September always feels like the month we return to everyday life. Summer holidays are over, schools have started and familiar routines are back. Before we know it, our calendars are filling up again.

But take your coffee or tea outside and look around. Have you noticed the trees that were green only a few weeks ago? Some are already turning golden yellow, rusty orange and crimson red. There is something about fall that reminds us that change can be beautiful.

And isn't it funny how quickly we start wanting different things too? The candles come out, we feel like cooking again and staying home suddenly sounds quite nice.

This year, we're going to try to notice a little more of fall while it's happening. Not just when the trees are already bare and we're wondering where October went.

Come and notice it with us. Welcome to fall in your Calmer Year.

We know, fall has only just begun. But this is also the time when the first Christmas ideas start finding their way into our notebooks. Something we want to make, a recipe we loved last year, cards we want to send or people we hope to see.

So we made a Calmer Christmas Guide to collect some of those ideas and enjoy the lead-up to Christmas too. Inside you'll find inspiration for cooking, writing, making, giving and spending time together.

Go Looking for Red Leaves

In Japan, momijigari is the tradition of going out to enjoy the changing fall foliage. You don't have to go far. A maple in the park or Virginia creeper climbing a brick wall can suddenly turn an ordinary street bright red.

Look for Morning Dew

Have a look at the spiderwebs on a cool morning. When they're covered in tiny drops of dew, something you might normally walk straight past suddenly becomes hard to miss.

Catch the Golden Hour

Have you noticed the light changing too? The sun sits lower in fall, casting a warmer light across buildings and streets. Even an ordinary bike ride home can look completely different.

We captured some of those changing seasonal colors in our Halcyon Days collection. Coming soon.

The kitchen garden still holds something of summer. Tomatoes and beans are ready to pick, while pumpkins, squash and kale begin to appear. At the market, pears and apples start replacing the fruit we've been bringing home all summer.

And somehow, once those ingredients reach the kitchen, fall feels a little closer. Soup goes back on the stove. Apples and cinnamon find their way into the oven.

In many Dutch kitchens, some of those apples will become appelmoes. And there may not even be a recipe. Someone just knows how much cinnamon to add, how small to cut the apples or when it's ready.

Until one day, someone else wants to know.

At Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, a new exhibition starts with something most of us will recognize: how one familiar dish can bring a person, place or time in your life straight back to mind.

Broodnodig: Van land, naar keuken en tafel follows food from the land where it grows to the kitchen where it is prepared and, finally, the table where it is shared.

Along the way, chefs share memories of bread with neighbors, a grandmother's soup and foods from childhood. It might get you thinking about the dishes and stories from your own family's table.

Stedelijk Museum Schiedam — October 10, 2026 – March 14, 2027

If you love the stories behind the food we eat, put Lievelingskost on your fall reading list. The book explores the culinary history of Flanders through 50 dishes and the stories of how they found their place in our kitchens.

What we especially love is the question behind the project: what is your favorite dish, and what story is attached to it?

And it doesn't have to be anything special. Sometimes it's the simplest food that takes you straight back home. The appelmoes your mother always made when fall started, or that Friday evening favorite that still feels like comfort food after a long week.

If Lievelingskost gets you thinking about the food you grew up with, maybe it's time to start collecting some of those recipes yourself. Our Family's Table was made for exactly that: the recipes you want to make again, remember and pass on.

Discover Lievelingskost

Start your own family food story with Our Family's Table

Spiced Pear Oatmeal Crumble Cake

Have you noticed the pears are back? This is one of our favorite ways to use them: a soft spiced cake with cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg, topped with pears and a buttery oatmeal crumble.

Serve it warm with coffee or tea. And if you have a sweet tooth, add a little whipped cream.

What you need

For the cake

• 3 eggs
• 100 g brown sugar, preferably Dutch bruine basterdsuiker
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
• 125 g all-purpose flour
• 100 g butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Pinch of salt

For the pear and oatmeal crumble

• 2 pears, peeled and diced
• 40 g rolled oats
• 25 g all-purpose flour
• 25 g brown sugar
• 25 g cold butter, cut into small pieces
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

How to prepare

Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a 20 × 20 cm baking pan with butter.

Whisk the eggs, lemon juice and salt until light and foamy. Gradually add the brown sugar and vanilla sugar.

Fold in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. Add the melted butter and mix until smooth.

In a separate bowl, rub the cold butter into the oats, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon until small crumbs form.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Scatter the diced pears over the top, followed by the oatmeal crumble.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Serve warm with coffee or tea, and add a little whipped cream if you have a sweet tooth.

A recipe worth keeping? Write it down in Our Family's Table.